OTTAWA — Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon is the latest cabinet minister to decline to run for the Liberal leadership after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s resignation on Monday.
MacKinnon had explored the possibility of throwing his hat in the ring but, in a statement posted to social media on Sunday, said the timeline of the race was too tight.
“Unfortunately, the time available does not allow me to mount the kind of campaign that I would want to run,” MacKinnon wrote.
Leadership hopefuls will have to declare their candidacy by Jan. 23 and pay a fee of $350,000 to enter the race, which sets a high fundraising bar for contenders. The new party leader will be announced on March 9.
Another potential contender, Treasury Board President Anita Anand, also announced this weekend that she wouldn’t be entering the race. Anand posted a statement on social media announcing that she also wouldn’t be running for re-election in her Oakville riding.
Anand wrote that she would “return to my prior professional life of teaching, research and public policy analyses.”
National Post has reported that former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney is preparing to announce his candidacy next week, with former B.C. Premier Christy Clark also likely to join the race.
People close to former finance minister Chrystia Freeland’s leadership team have said she is consulting with caucus members about a potential leadership bid.
On Friday, Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly told reporters she was personally ready to become the Liberal party’s first female leader, but that leaving her current responsibilities made it impossible.
So far the race has only two declared candidates: Ottawa backbencher Chandra Arya and Quebec businessman and former MP Frank Baylis.
National Post
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